


Pneumonia

by gayyyluigi



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Sickfic, these boys will be the end of me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-26
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-08-17 09:16:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8138747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayyyluigi/pseuds/gayyyluigi
Summary: In which Lumiere falls ill and scares the living hell out of Cogsworth.





	

Pneumonia.

No one had seen it coming. Lumiere had hidden his symptoms so well in an attempt to keep others from worrying. He'd been so busy trying to keep up appearances, trying to keep things running as usual, that he'd completely neglected his health. No one had even realized that Lumiere was ill until he collapsed in the middle of the hallway, skin ghostly pale and burning hot to the touch.

Lumiere was lucky to have survived... But he was most certainly not out of the woods yet. He hadn't woken up since the fall. The doctors had been administering care to him to try and reduce his fever, to try and get more oxygen into his system, but the poor man still hadn't had the strength to wake, the illness preventing him from coming to. It was extremely worrying to everyone in the castle, but it worried no one more so than Cogsworth.

Since the moment that Lumiere had been discovered, fainted on the floor in the hall, Cogsworth had not left Lumiere's side. Needless to say, it had irritated the doctors that had been called to care for poor Lumiere. Cogsworth had simply refused to leave, pitching a fit whenever anyone tried to get him to leave the room. Never before had Cogsworth been so terrified in his life. Lumiere was his dearest friend, the one he held closest to his heart, and the thought of losing him caused him so much anxiety that he could swear that he would have a heart attack at any moment.

After about two days of Cogsworth keeping vigil over Lumiere, however, Cogsworth was no longer able to keep himself awake. He was exhausted from a lack of sleep, and, against his will, his heavy eyelids fell closed, and he drifted off to sleep. However, quite unfortunately, sweet dreams did not await Cogsworth once he fell asleep. Instead, the moment his eyes fell shut, the nightmares began, plaguing his mind with terror.

In the dream, Cogsworth was watching Lumiere, much like he had been the past couple of days. However, in the dream, Lumiere was conscious, sitting up weakly and coughing raggedly into a handkerchief. Lumiere was skeletally thin, his cheeks sunken in and eyes hollow as he hacked and wheezed, the handkerchief clutched to his mouth. Then, much to Cogsworth's horror, the handkerchief began to turn red, becoming stained with blood. Lumiere turned to look at Cogsworth with fear in his eyes, giving a terrified burble as blood spilled from his lips. He then fell back against the bed, eyes rolling back and--

Cogsworth awoke with a start, crying out in horror as the dream sent sheer terror through his body. Hot tears escaping his eyes, Cogsworth looked down at Lumiere frantically, clutching the man's hand with a broken sob. Much to his relief, Lumiere was still breathing, with no blood staining his pale lips. Cogsworth laid his head on Lumiere's midsection, weeping bitterly in relief as he listened to Lumiere's heartbeat, listened to him breathing. It helped to soothe him, but he was still rather shaken up. Never before had he had such a terrifying nightmare.... His heart was still racing, and he was still on the verge of hyperventilation. But perhaps now that he had reason to worry, his mind was conjuring such images as a response to the intense anxiety he was feeling.

Suddenly, though, Cogsworth felt a tremulous hand run through his hair gently. He sniffled, deeply confused as he looked up curiously. Much to his relief, there was Lumiere, awake, weakly smiling down at him.

"Are you trying to mourn me before I am gone, mon ami?" Lumiere chuckled, his voice raspy but still as lighthearted as ever. He gently stroked Cogsworth's hair, a fond smile tugging at his lips. "Don't tell me you are trying to hasten my demise, ma chère montre de poche. I do not plan on going anywhere any time soon."

"L-Lumiere...!" Cogsworth exclaimed, his voice thick with emotion. He threw his arms around the other man, burying his face in Lumiere's shoulder. It felt like Lumiere's fever was finally down, thank God! "I- I had the worst nightmare, y-you were-- oh, it was dreadful...!! I t-thought I'd never hear your voice again!" He was overcome with relief, beyond joyful that his friend seemed to finally be on the road to recovery.

Lumiere was quite surprised to see such a display, to say the least. Throughout the years, he'd rarely seen Cogsworth get this upset over anything. Cogsworth often had panic episodes, and was known to cry from time to time, but never anything like this. Lumiere knew that Cogsworth cared for him, of course, but he never knew that it ran this deeply.

"Cogsworth..." Lumiere murmured, pulling Cogsworth closer to reassure him. "It was only a dream. I promise, I am not going anywhere. I plan to stay around and harass you until we both reach a ripe old age." He rubbed Cogsworth's back tenderly, wanting to soothe the poor fretting man's worries. "...you must truly care about me deeply to be so distraught. How long have I been out...?"

"About two days," Cogsworth responded, voice tremoring as he fought through his tears. "They found you unconscious in the hallway... And... I haven't left your side since. Much to the chagrin of the doctors, might I add." He sighed, shoulders slumping as he relaxed against Lumiere. "That was... Actually the first time I've slept since then. And it wasn't very pleasant."

"Two days....?" Lumiere was taken aback. It had been two entire days, and Cogsworth hadn't left his side? But... Cogsworth usually didn't neglect his duties for anything, even for the sake of his own health! "You... Stayed by my side? This entire time?" He felt his own eyes become a bit misty, and he shook his head, feeling emotion knot in his throat. "...mon ami, I..."

Cogsworth looked up at Lumiere, cheeks ruddy with emotion, wet tear tracks still visible on his face. "I have never been more scared in my life than when I was faced with the possibility of losing you." He sighed, gently moving to tuck a stray strand of Lumiere's hair behind the man's ear. "...I've had a long while to think, sitting by your side these past days. And... It's about time that I tell you some things. Before it's too late. There's no way of predicting if something could happen to either of us, and... I don't want things to go unsaid."

Lumiere frowned slightly, tilting his head in confusion. Whatever this was about, Cogsworth seemed deadly serious. He looked down at Cogsworth with concern in his eyes, brow furrowing. "Well... What is it, mom ami? Do not be afraid to tell me..."

Cogsworth nodded, taking a breath as he gathered his courage. "Alright..." He looked Lumiere in the eye, feeling a nervous sweat begin to dampen his neck. "Lumiere... I... I believe I'm in love with you." He then looked away, a shameful blush rising on his face and neck. "It's not proper, it's wrong, but... I love you. And I don't think I could bear to lose you."

Lumiere's lips parted in a silent gasp, the man taken by surprise by Cogsworth's admission. That was certainly not something he would've ever expected to hear. He was at a loss for words as he tried to process this new information. He could only caress Cogsworth's plush cheek, gently wiping the tears with his thumb in an attempt to soothe the poor man.

"Cogsworth..." Lumiere finally spoke, a lump rising in his throat. He paused, coughing into his elbow, wincing as he saw how stricken Cogsworth looked at the sight. "Cogsworth, I... I'm flattered..." He shook his head, laughing softly as tears welled up in his own eyes and spilled over. "Oh, you sentimental old fool, look what you've gone and done. You've made me cry too."

Cogsworth couldn't help but laugh as well, gently wiping Lumiere's tears. "I apologize, my friend... I didn't mean to upset you..."

"I'm not upset," Lumiere responded softly, a fond smile tugging at his lips. "Simply touched. I... Never would've thought that you felt that way about me."

"Well... I do," Cogsworth chuffed, his face burning. "...how do you feel about it...? I mean..." He trailed off, feeling quite flustered and self-conscious.

"Well..." Lumiere paused in thought, then pressed a gentle kiss to Cogsworth's cheek, his smile growing. "It may be the fever talking, but... I do believe that I may have feelings for you as well, you old fuddy-duddy." He chuckled, rolling his eyes playfully. "But I also believe that I need some more rest, since I am still feeling ill. And in addition, I believe that you're in need of some rest as well. You've not slept in two days."

Much to Cogsworth's surprise, Lumiere pulled him completely onto the bed, positioning him so that he was comfortable. Cogsworth's blush deepened, and he snuggled in without protest.

"...thank you, Lumiere," Cogsworth murmured, resting his head in the pillow beside Lumiere's. "I... I appreciate it."

"Hush, you," Lumiere teased, yawning and allowing his eyes to slip closed. "It is nap time." He draped an arm over Cogsworth, snuggling up to him. The time for talk would be later. For now... The both of them needed their rest.


End file.
